Nessie : Interview (pj cheng)

It’s Friday night and I’m at Flirt, an “off 7th“ club that caters mostly to eccentrics.  I’m here to meet Joey Neill, bass player for the local band Nessie.  Right away, I notice there are only about 15 or 20 people here (including the band).  “We haven’t even set up yet,” he says, though it’s almost ten o’clock and the people are still filing in.  When Joey and the rest of Nessie do kick things off, it’s straight-up chords, it’s straight-up drums, it’s straight-up licks and bass lines…  It’s true rock and roll, somewhat of a novelty amongst startup bands these days that try and stay current with the trends.  You won’t see these guys sporting a tie and singing in monotone—they’re sticking to the roots of rock.

A few days after the show in Ybor, Joey and singer/guitarist Scott Harrell met me at Emerald Bar in downtown St. Pete for an interview and a few dollar-fifty pints.  With a radio playing randomly in the background, we discuss the group's evolution, the local music scene and their change in attitude that has come from playing in various bands, going to shows, and just plain growing up.

REAX:  You have an interesting history with your lineup, but would you say you and Joey were at the heart of it?
 
SH:  Me, Joey and Hunter, our first drummer, basically started the thing together, and Hunter had a lot of other commitments and he just wasn't able to devote himself to it a hundred percent.  So I decided to turn it into this thing where whoever would play, could play.  We went through five drummers, a couple different guitar players, and it was fun for a while.  But that got really frustrating because when we booked a show, I had to scramble to call people, and hope that their bands weren't playing in shows that night so they could come and learn a couple of our songs and do our show.  And it was a cool idea but it's just a lot easier to have people in place that are committed to the project.  We finally got a drummer, Ed (Swain), who's going to stick around, but for a while it's mostly been me making demos and handing demos to musicians.  I would say things like, "in three weeks we're going to play these songs, learn them and then we'll get together two or three times right before the show and then play the show."  So, it's been a like a long-distance relationship.

REAX:  And your other guitarist?

SH:  Mark (Bustin).  But we had another guitar player before that, Kamran, who was in another band called Urbane Cowboys, a local band, and we really liked him, but we had schedule conflicts.  I still consider him to be part of the band and I'd love to have him on stage again, but we're really gelling with Mark right now.  Mark is our main guy; he's definitely a band member.  Plus, he runs a bar and that always helps.  Yeah, we love Mark.

REAX:  So what are your favorite venues to play?

SH:  New World Brewery is my all time favorite venue in the area.

JN:  For many reasons.

SH:  We know the staff, they're real local-music friendly, they come out and listen to the bands, they come out from behind the bar, they give the bands free beer which used to be a given but not so much anymore.  Some venues won't give you free beer anymore.  

JN:  No, you get two little tickets.

SH:  Yeah, you get two free beers. laughs

REAX:  I've noticed that with the Tampa/St.Pete scene; it seems there are more bands and shows than an audience to play for.

SH:  It's a youth thing.  People my age have kids and a family, and they're not gonna go out on a Thursday night to go see a band.  But there's so much talent in this area that is completely overlooked.  There's no mass transit, it's too spread out… there are some great bars and every time I've played here (at Emerald) with other bands, the place is jammed, but it's the same people.  You're not getting new fans…it's just the people that support and represent.  

REAX:  You guys have a lot of support from your friends but what would you want other people to know about the band?

JN:  I'm single. laughs

SH:  I think that what our band, or even any local band, would want is that if once a month people went out and paid a five dollar door charge to see a local show.  And maybe not the first time or the second time, but eventually they would find something they would like and support and they would really see the diversity of the musical culture we have here.  


 For schedules, music and pictures, check out Nessie at www.myspace.com/nessie.  For romantic encounters, check out Joey at myspace.com/zip_gun_bop.